Washington State Minority and Justice Commission

WASHINGTON STATE MINORITY AND JUSTICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING

Seattle University Student Center, Room 210 Seattle, Washington Friday, March 7, 2008 at 10:00 A.M.

Justice Charles W. Johnson and Justice Charles Z. Smith, Co-Chairpersons, Presiding.

Call to order

The meeting was called to order by Justice Charles Z. Smith at 11:00 a.m.

Present: Justice Charles W. Johnson, Justice Charles Z. Smith (retired), Judge Donald J. Horowitz (retired), Judge Kenneth H. Kato (retired), Judge Douglas W. Luna, Judge LeRoy McCullough, Judge James M. Murphy (retired), Judge Vance W. Peterson, Judge Greg D. Sypolt, Judge Mary I. Yu, Alexander A. Baehr, Jeffrey A. Beaver, Professor Robert C. Boruchowitz, Dirk A. Marler, Ms. Rosa M. Melendez, Ms. Bonnie J. Glenn, Ms. Yemi Fleming Jackson, Eric A. Jones, Ms. Carlene M. Placide, Ms. P. Diane Schneider, Ms. Nancy K. Scott, Professor Ada Shen-Jaffe, and Monto Shan Morton as staff.

Absent with excused absences: Professor Bryan L. Adamson, Judge Deborah D. Fleck, Judge Richard A. Jones, Judge Richard F. McDermott, Jr., Judge Vicki J. Toyohara, Judge Dennis D. Yule, Ms. Ann E. Benson, Ms. Myrna I. Contreras, Uriel Iñiguez, Dean Sandra E. Madrid, Ph. D., Ms. Denise C. Marti, N. A. “Butch” Stussy, Jeffrey C. Sullivan, and Ms. Brenda E. Williams.

Acknowledgements

Justice Smith acknowledged Vice Dean Annette Clark, Seattle University School of Law, for hosting the Commission.

Minutes

Justice Smith stated that the October 26, 2007 Commission meeting minutes have been approved, subject to any necessary editorial revisions, during the Executive Committee Meeting. Minutes of the Commission Meeting – 2 March 7, 2008

Commission Meeting Schedule

Justice Smith announced the Executive Committee and Commission meeting dates for 2008:

 Friday, June 27, 2008  Friday, October 24, 2008

Appointments

Justice Charles Z. Smith reported that two new appointments were made by the Supreme Court to the Commission: Judge Vance W. Peterson from Spokane County District Court and Professor Ada Shen-Jaffe from Seattle University School of Law. He added that Ms. Nancy K. Scott, new designee from the Superior Court Clerks Association, has joined the Commission’s Technical Support Group.

Executive Director

Justice Smith formally presented Monto Shan Morton, the Commission’s new executive director since February 1, 2008. Justice Smith reported that he and Justice Johnson offered the position to Mr. Morton due to his experience as the Commission’s program assistant for almost six years and proving capable during the absence of the executive director who left in November of 2007.

2007 Annual Report

Justice Smith stated that he and Mr. Morton would write the 2007 Annual Report. He emphasized the importance of receiving reports from the sub-committees in a timely manner.

2008 National Consortium

Justice Smith reported that the Minority and Justice Commission will host the 2008 National Consortium Annual Meeting at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel from April 29 th to May 2nd. He summarized the status of presenters, program and funding. Justice Smith expressed that it is hoped that all Commission members will attend the entire Consortium meeting and act as ambassadors to presenters and out-of-state attendees.

Budget Status Report

Justice Johnson reported that the Commission is running a surplus so payment National Consortium registration fees for Commission members would be considered. Minutes of the Commission Meeting – 3 March 7, 2008

Report of the Sub-committees

Education Sub-committee

Judge Greg D. Sypolt, Vice Chairperson of the Education Sub-committee, reported that the Judicial College session evaluations for Judge James M. Murphy, Judge Vicky J. Toyohara and the educational consultants Ms. Benita Horn and Peggy Nagae received high scores. Judge Sypolt explained that beginning next year he and Judge McCullough are slated to be the Judicial College faculty team members for a three-year term.

Judge Sypolt also reported that the sub-committee will present phase two of “Do We Know Our Arab, Muslim and Sikh American Neighbors?” at the fall 2008 Judicial Conference in Spokane, October 5 to 8, 2008.

Judge Sypolt announced that the sub-committee is sponsoring Dr. Donna Beegle who is presenting “Poverty and Communication Across Barriers” at the District and Municipal Court Managers’ Association in Yakima on March 19, 2008, from 1:30 to 5:00 PM.

Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee

Judge James M. Murphy, Chairperson of the Evaluation and Implementation Sub-committee, reported that the Legal Financial Obligations report draft was presented to the sub-committee as well as others, including Justice Smith and Justice Johnson. He noted that the report found no bias in the assessment of LFOs, except to the extent that indigence plays a part in being able to comply with LFO assessments. Judge Murphy explained that there was no correlation done between the poverty of those assessed LFOs and racial and ethnic demographics. He stated that they are awaiting the final report.

Judge Murphy reported that the topics of discussion of recent sub-committee meetings included access to counsel during Department of Corrections Office of Administrative Hearings and the disproportionate impact of truancy contempt cases on children of color and immigrant families. Discussion ensued concerning the disproportionate impact of truancy contempt cases on children of color and whether the Commission’s mission applied to the subject. Ms. Bonnie Glenn shared that she oversees the Office of Truancy and noted that legislation to study truancy policy recently failed. She stated that she would like to be involved in any further truancy discussions.

Outreach Sub-committee

Judge Dennis D. Yule, Chairperson of the Outreach Sub-committee, was not available to give the report so Judge Douglas D. Luna reported that the sub-committee Minutes of the Commission Meeting – 4 March 7, 2008

discussed the fall 2008 Equal Justice newsletter in which the theme of the newsletter may cover barriers to cultural competency. He requested Mr. Morton report on the other sub-committee projects.

Mr. Morton reported that the Youth and Justice Forum, an ongoing project headed by Judge Dennis D. Yule for the past five years, has been moved to October of 2008. He also reported that the newsletter survey on the Commission website had only resulted in seven responses after being referenced in the December 2007 newsletter. He recommended that the survey be sent directly to the two thousand two hundred and thirty three newsletter recipients via e-mail to efficiently increase feedback. He also reported that at the recent Outreach Sub-committee meeting they briefly discussed assigning Outreach Sub-committee members to specific agencies in the judicial system to facilitate the exchange of information.

Research Sub-committee

Judge Kenneth H. Kato, Chairperson of the Research Sub-committee, stated that the completion of the Legal Financial Obligation study is coming to a close and that the sub-committee is discussing other possible topics for the next research study.

Workforce Diversity Sub-committee

Judge Deborah D. Fleck, Chairperson of the Workforce Diversity Sub-committee was not available, so Ms. Bonnie J. Glenn reported that the sub-committee will recommend a national keynote speaker for the 2009 Fall Judicial Conference. She also recommended that the manual, “Building A Diverse Court: A Guide to Recruitment and Retention,” be re-published due to its popularity. She explained that Judge Donald J. Horowitz is editing the Diversifying the Bench manual and Governor Gregoire has agreed to write the introduction. She stated that the sub-committee believes a similar manual for court administrators and diversity training for administrators could be possible projects in the future.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by Justice Charles Z. Smith at 12:55 p.m.